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Contemporary Accounting Research Vol. 37 No. 4 2020

Connections between the Market Pricing of Accruals Quality and Accounting‐Based Anomalies*

Kai Du1,2; Xin Daniel Jiang3

1 Penn State University · 2 U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission · 3 University of Waterloo

Abstract

We examine whether prior findings on the market pricing of accruals quality (AQ) can be attributed to other forms of accounting‐based anomalies. Using hedge portfolio analysis and cross‐sectional regressions, we find that the return predictive power of AQ overlaps with several other accounting signals. We also find that, similar to other accounting‐based anomalies, especially the accruals anomaly, the AQ pricing effect (i) is likely due to mispricing instead of risk pricing, (ii) is attenuated in recent years, and (iii) disappears among firms with cash flow forecasts or long‐term growth forecasts. Our findings highlight the importance of controlling for existing return predictive signals when evaluating the market pricing of AQ.

DOI
10.1111/1911-3846.12589
Volume
37
Issue
4
Pages
2087-2119
Language
en
Sources
bibtex:phds-export.bib openalex crossref

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